Usage-based bandwidth optimization

ABSTRACT

Systems, graphical user interfaces, and methods are provided to optimize bandwidth usage associated with a local network. As part of the bandwidth optimization techniques, a network regulation entity may maintain a plurality of usage statistics for a plurality of electronic devices. These usage statistics may be presented by an electronic device as part of a usage summary interface. In addition to displaying the usage statistics, the usage summary interface may enable a user to modify how the network regulation entity regulates traffic. Accordingly, the network regulation entity may update an access profile in accordance with the modification. Subsequently, the traffic received from the electronic device is processed based on the user-indicated modification. Thus, compliance with network neutrality principles may be maintained.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is related to copending U.S. applications Ser. No.______ the entire disclosures of which are expressly incorporated hereinby reference.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The following disclosure relates to systems and methods for optimizingbandwidth allocations within a network, and more particularly, foroptimizing the bandwidth allocations for electronic devices as directedby users thereof.

BACKGROUND

Many network are faced with capacity constraints. For some of thesenetworks, capacity constraints may cause a network operator to imposelimits on users of the network. As an example, a network operator mayimplement a rate limit (a maximum achievable bit rate) or a consumptioncap (a limit on the number of bytes for a period of time). Such networkpolicies prevent individual users from utilizing a disproportionateshare of the constrained capacity, ensuring that more users can enjoy ahigher quality network performance.

However, due to network neutrality requirements, some network operatorsmay be restricted in the types of limits they may impose on users whenaddressing capacity constraints. To this end, network neutrality mayrequire that some network operators treat all data equally, regardlessof the content or source. Thus, operators of constrained networks maynot be able to implement particular types of limits or caps that areuseful in allocating the limited network resources amongst its varioususers. Accordingly, there is a need to develop systems and methods ofnetwork regulation that are both effective at controlling individualbandwidth usage and still comply with network neutrality principles.

SUMMARY OF THE DISCLOSURE

In one embodiment, a method for optimizing bandwidth usage is provided.The method may comprise (1) maintaining, by one or more processors, anelectronic record for an electronic device, the electronic recordincluding (i) an access profile indicating a plurality regulationactivities for a plurality of applications, and (ii) a usage profileindicating a plurality of usage statistics for the plurality ofapplications; (2) causing, by the one or more processors, a usagesummary user interface to be presented on a display of the electronicdevice, wherein the usage summary user interface presents indications ofa portion of the plurality of applications and, for each of theindicated plurality of applications, the corresponding regulationactivity and a portion of the corresponding plurality of usagestatistics; (3) receiving, from the electronic device and via the usagesummary user interface, an instruction to modify a regulation activitycorresponding to a particular application, the instruction indicating aparticular regulation activity; (4) updating, by the one or moreprocessors, the access profile corresponding to the electronic device toindicate that the regulation activity for the particular application isthe indicated regulation activity; (5) receiving, from the electronicdevice, a plurality of data packets addressed to a location external toa local network; (6) analyzing, by the one or more processors, theplurality of data packets to identify a plurality of communicationsessions within the plurality of data packets; (7) identifying, by theone or more processors, that the particular application corresponds toone of the plurality of communication sessions; and (8) performing, bythe one or more processors, the indicated regulation activity indicatedto the communication session that corresponds to the particularapplication.

In another embodiment, a Graphical User Interface (GUI) for optimizingbandwidth usage is provided. The GUI may be presented by an applicationexecuting on an electronic device. The electronic device may include oneor more processors and a memory coupled to the one or more processors.The GUI may comprise a display region for displaying a plurality ofapplications that correspond to a plurality of data packets previouslytransmitted by the electronic device to addresses external to a localnetwork, wherein for each listed application. The display region furthermay indicate (i) a network usage statistic and (ii) an indication of anetwork regulation activity. The display region may include a selectableinterface element that enables a user of the electronic device to modifythe network regulation activity associated with the application. Thedisplay region may be further configured to, in response to theelectronic device transmitting further data packets to addressesexternal to the local network, automatically update the displayed listof applications and the respectively corresponding indications ofnetwork usage statistics for each of the plurality of applications.

In still another embodiment, a system for optimizing bandwidth usage maybe provided. The system may comprise (i) one or more processors; (ii) aprofile database storing an electronic record corresponding to anelectronic device, the electronic record including an access profile anda usage profile; and (iii) one or more non-transitory, computer-readablestorage media storing computer-executable instructions. When executed bythe one or more processors, the computer-executable instructions causethe system to (1) cause, by the one or more processors, a usage summaryuser interface to be presented on a display of the electronic device,wherein the usage summary user interface presents indications of aplurality of applications and, for each of the indicated plurality ofapplications, a corresponding regulation activity and a usage statistic;(2) receive, from the electronic device and via the usage summary userinterface, an instruction to modify a regulation activity correspondingto a particular application, the instruction indicating a particularregulation activity; (3) update, by the one or more processors, theaccess profile to indicate that the regulation activity for theparticular application is the indicated regulation activity; (4)receive, from the electronic device, a plurality of data packetsaddressed to a location external to a local network; (5) analyze, by theone or more processors, the plurality of data packets to identify aplurality of communication sessions within the plurality of datapackets; (6) identify, by the one or more processors, that theparticular application corresponds to one of the plurality ofcommunication sessions; and (7) perform, by the one or more processors,the indicated regulation activity indicated to the communication sessionthat corresponds to the particular application.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 depicts an embodiment of an exemplary communication systemcapable of performing one or more of the bandwidth optimizationtechniques disclosed herein;

FIG. 2 illustrates an example signal diagram in which a networkregulation server, such as the network regulation server 140 of FIG. 1,regulates traffic originated by an electronic device, such as one of theelectronic devices 110 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is an exemplary interface displayed on an electronic device, suchas one of the electronic devices 110 of FIG. 1, associated with the userpurchase of an access product;

FIG. 4 is an example flow diagram of an example method for performingthe user-directed bandwidth optimization techniques, which may beimplemented in the communication system depicted in FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 is an exemplary interface displayed on an electronic device, suchas one of the electronic devices 110 of FIG. 1, associated withpresenting a usage summary;

FIG. 6 is an example flow diagram of an example method for performingthe usage-based bandwidth optimization techniques, which may beimplemented in the communication system depicted in FIG. 1;

FIG. 7 illustrates an example signal diagram in which a networkregulation server, such as the network regulation server 140 of FIG. 1,generates an access profile configuration notification for an electronicdevice, such as one of the electronic devices 110 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 8 is an exemplary interface displayed on an electronic device, suchas one of the electronic devices 110 of FIG. 1, associated with theaccess profile configuration notification;

FIG. 9 is an example flow diagram of an example method for generatingaccess profile configuration notifications, which may be implemented inthe communication system depicted in FIG. 1;

FIG. 10 is a block diagram of a network regulation server thatfacilitates the bandwidth optimization techniques disclosed herein, suchas the authentication server depicted in FIG. 1; and

FIG. 11 is a block diagram of an electronic device that facilitates thebandwidth optimization techniques disclosed herein, such as one of theelectronic devices depicted in FIG. 1.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

It should be understood that, unless a term is expressly defined in thispatent using the sentence “As used herein, the term ‘______’ is herebydefined to mean . . . ” or a similar sentence, there is no intent tolimit the meaning of that term, either expressly or by implication,beyond its plain or ordinary meaning, and such term should not beinterpreted to be limited in scope based on any statement made in anysection of this patent (other than the language of the claims). To theextent that any term recited in the claims at the end of this disclosureis referred to in this disclosure in a manner consistent with a singlemeaning, that is done for sake of clarity only so as to not confuse thereader, and it is not intended that such claim term be limited, byimplication or otherwise, to that single meaning. Finally, unless aclaim element is defined by reciting the word “means” and a functionwithout the recital of any structure, it is not intended that the scopeof any claim element be interpreted based on the application of 35U.S.C. § 112(f).

Traditionally, when an electronic device attempts to register with anetwork, the electronic device exchanges communications with a networkentity that controls access to that network (referred to generallyherein as an “authentication server”). For example, some networksutilize an authentication, authorization, and accounting server (a“AAA”). Other networks may utilize a firewall server. Regardless of thespecific type of server, the authentication server may ensure that theelectronic device is authenticated to access and/or utilize the network.In some networks, the authentication server may be associated with adatabase of devices that have access to the network (e.g., a HomeLocation Register or HLR). In these networks, when the electronic deviceattempts to register with the network, the authentication server mayquery the database to determine whether the electronic device has accessto the network.

After the electronic device is granted network access by theauthentication server, the authentication server may associate theelectronic device with an access profile. More particularly, theauthentication server may update a profile database to create and/orupdate an access profile corresponding to the electronic device. In someembodiments, the profile database may be a component of or otherwiseinterconnected with an HLR. The access profile may indicate a set ofparameters which control the network experience associated with theelectronic device. For example, the access profile may indicate whetherthe electronic device is associated with a rate limit and/or whether theelectronic device may utilize a particular application (e.g., a VPNapplication, a particular website, etc.) and/or an application category(i.e., a set of applications that share a common characteristic, suchas, for example, a type of communication, a type of informationtransmitted by the application, an application provider, and so on). Ifthe electronic device has not previously utilized the network, theauthentication server may associate the electronic device with a defaultaccess profile. On the other hand, if the electronic device haspreviously utilized the network, then the access profile may be the sameprofile as previously associated with the electronic device. In somescenarios, an electronic device may correspond to a profile whereinparticular parameters are adjusted for only a fixed amount of timeand/or events (e.g., a higher bandwidth cap that expires after 24 hoursand/or upon the completion a journey). In these scenarios, theparameters associated with the fixed amount of time and/or events mayreturn to a default value upon the expiration thereof. It should beappreciated that some parameters within an access profile may survivethe expiration of the fixed amount of time and/or events. For example,if a user indicates that access to a particular application should beblocked, the corresponding network parameter may be persistent untilsubsequently changed by the user.

According to some aspects, network operators may sell productsassociated with different tiers of access to their networks. Forexample, a network operator may enable a customer to purchase networkaccess that enables the electronic device to be allocated more bandwidthand/or consume more data. As another example, a network operator mayenable a customer to purchase access to specific applications and/orapplication categories that are restricted to other users (for example,a video conferencing application). Accordingly, when a user firstinteracts with a network, the user may be presented with an interfacethat enables the purchase of an access product. It should be appreciatedthat in some networks, the user may be presented with a selection ofseveral free access products. Accordingly, as it is used herein, theterm “purchase” includes the selection of a free access product.

In response to the user purchasing a particular access product, theauthentication server may update the profile database to indicate thatelectronic device is associated with network access consistent with theterms of the purchased access product. For example, if the accessproduct included a particular bandwidth cap, a bandwidth limit parameterwithin the access profile for the electronic device may be changed froma default or other previously stored value to one corresponding to theaccess product. As another example, if the access product includedaccess to a particular application, the access profile for theelectronic device may be changed to indicate that the electronic devicehas access to the particular application. As yet another example, if theaccess product is configured to prioritize a particular set ofapplications, the access parameters within the access profile for theelectronic device may be modified to implement to corresponding prioritypreferences. It should be appreciated that some applications may requireadditional provisioning and/or registration for an electronic device toreceive access to the application. For example, a SMS over Wi-Fiapplication may require that the electronic device is registered with aShort Messaging Service Center (SMSC). Accordingly, in addition toupdating the access profile, the authentication server may also ensurethat any required provisioning and/or registration occurs.

As described above, some networks may be associated with constrainedcapacity. For example, a network local to an aircraft or other vehiclemay have limited bandwidth to communicate over an air-to-ground and/orsatellite communications link. Similarly, a small or pico- cell networkmay have a limited capacity. Thus, it is not uncommon that the aggregateamount of data generated within these networks exceeds the networkcapacity constraints. To solve this problem, a network operator mayinclude a network regulation server to control communications generatedby and/or terminated at electronic devices within the network. To thisend, all communications generated within the network may first beprocessed by the network regulation server prior to being routed overthe constrained communication link. In particular, when the networkregulation server receives communications generated by a particularelectronic device, the network regulation server may query thecorresponding access profile within the profile database to regulate thecommunications in accordance with the access profile.

In some embodiments, each service and/or application may be associatedwith a priority. In these embodiments, when communications to and froman electronic device approach the maximum bandwidth allocated to theelectronic device (as indicated by the access profile), the networkregulation server may prioritize communications that correspond to ahigher priority. For example, the access profile corresponding to anelectronic device may indicate that email is a higher priority than webbrowsing. Accordingly, when the electronic device approaches the maximumallocated bandwidth, the network regulation server may transmit the datapackets associated with the email service; whereas data packetsassociated with web browsing may be scheduled to be transmitted whenmore bandwidth is available. In some embodiments, the network regulationserver may regulate low priority data such that, despite being delayedor otherwise de-prioritized, communication session facilitated by thelow priority data may still be maintained.

It should be appreciated that for some networks, all communicationsgenerated within the network may be aggregated and transmitted in asingle aggregate stream and/or tunnel. In some embodiments, the dataaggregation entity may be different than the network regulation entity.Thus, as it is used generally herein with respect to a networkregulation entity transmitting and/or routing communications to alocation external to the network, the term “transmit” and/or “route”includes the routing of a data packet to a data aggregator prior totransmission over an external communications link.

Additionally, the network regulation server may monitor usage statisticsassociated with each electronic device communicating over the network.To this end, a user of the electronic device may interact with aplurality of different applications (including websites) via thenetwork. Accordingly, the network regulation server may record and/oraggregate usage statistics indicating an amount of data the electronicdevice communicated to and/or from each of these applications. Thenetwork regulation server may utilize the recorded and/or aggregatedusage statistics to generate a usage profile within the profile databasethat corresponds to the electronic device.

According to aspects, the network regulation server may also cause ausage summary user interface to be displayed on the electronic device.To this end, the usage summary user interface may present the aggregatedusage statistics and/or enable the user to change a network regulationactivity associated with a particular application. Generally, tofacilitate the presentation of a user interface on the electronicdevice, the network regulation server may generate a set of computerreadable instructions that, when executed by the electronic device,cause the electronic device to present the user interface to the user ofthe electronic device. In some embodiments, the user interface may bepresented as a web page presented in a browser application executing onthe electronic device. In these embodiments, in response to the browsernavigating to a particular address associated with the presentation ofthe usage profile, the network regulation server may transmit thecomputer readable instructions to the electronic device. Accordingly,the computer readable instructions may include an HTML resource, aJavaScript applet, a Cascading Style Sheets component , and/or otherknown software elements that support the presentation of user interfacesover a network. According to certain aspects, the computer readableinstructions may utilize a software techniques (e.g., AJAX) that causesthe network regulation server to dynamically update the user interfacedisplayed on the web page in response to any changes to the usagestatistics.

In other embodiments, the user interface may be presented within anapplication executing on the electronic device. In these embodiments,the computer readable instructions may include an instruction thatcauses an application stored on the electronic to launch. For example,the network operator may distribute an application for enabling users tomanage their network experience and/or configuration via an app store oras a hosted download. In some scenarios, the app may already includeinstructions to display a template usage summary interface. However, inthese scenarios, the app may still need to communicate with the networkregulation server to retrieve updated usage statistics corresponding tothe electronic device. Accordingly, the instructions may additionally oralternatively include any communications that indicate the updated usagestatistics.

According to certain aspects, the instructions may also vary betweentypes of electronic devices. For example, mobile phones and laptopcomputers may receive different sets of instructions. In one scenario,the type of electronic device may be determined by analyzing a useragent profile received from the electronic device. Accordingly, the userinterfaces presented by an electronic device may be optimized forpresentation by electronic devices of that particular type.

The user interface may display a list of applications with which theelectronic device communicated, as well as an indication of an amount ofdata transmitted to and/or received from each application. Thus, theuser interface enables the user to learn exactly which applications areutilizing the most network resources. Furthermore, the user interfacemay enable the user to change how data to and/or from each applicationis regulated by the network. For example, the user may elect to block,unblock, rate limit, prioritize, de-prioritize, and/or perform any otherdata regulation technique for traffic to and/or from a particularapplication. When the user makes an election to change a data regulationbehavior, the electronic device may transmit an indication to thenetwork operator. In response, the profile database may be updated tochange the access profile of the electronic device to indicate the userelections. As a result, when the network regulation server processtraffic transmitted from the electronic device, the network regulationserver may perform data regulation actions in compliance with the userindicated changes.

A benefit of generating and presenting the usage profile is that networkusers are given more precise control of their network experience thanconventionally possible. Often, when an electronic device exhibits aslow connection and/or other poor network experiences, the cause is dueto an application executing on the electronic device that communicatesin the background, unbeknownst to the user. As a result, theapplications with which the user is knowingly attempting to interact areassociated with a poor user experience. However, by generating andpresenting the usage profile to the user, the user is provided a toolsetfor implementing their own personalized network regulation policy thatrestricts access to the background application. Furthermore, becausethis network regulation policy is set by the user (i.e., the policy isself-enforcing), any restrictions placed on their own connection maycomply with network neutrality principles.

According to aspects, the usage profile may also be analyzed by thenetwork regulation server to improve the network experience for the userof the electronic device. For example, the network regulation server maybe able to identify that the use of the local network is anomalous withan access profile assigned to the electronic device. For example, aparticular application may utilize a disproportionate amount of networkresources associated with the electronic device. Accordingly, if theparticular application is not preferred by the access profile, thenetwork operator may transmit a notification to the electronic deviceinforming the user of this disproportionate usage. In response to a userinteraction with the notification, the electronic device may present aninterface to block data communications with the particular application,freeing up the network resources to be utilized for communications withother applications. As another example, the network operator maydetermine that the user purchased an access product tailored forutilizing a first set of applications or services (e.g., basicinternet); however, the usage profile may indicate that the useractually utilized a set of applications that more closely aligns with analternate access product (e.g., business user). Accordingly, the networkoperator may transmit a notification that recommends that the userpurchases the alternate access product.

Although the present disclosure generally refers to the networkregulation server performing both the functionality related toregulating traffic from electronic devices, maintaining and/or analyzingusage statistics, and generating user interfaces, it is envisioned thatthis functionality may be divided across multiple servers (including anauthentication server). Accordingly, as it is used herein, the term“network regulation server” does not refer to a single server, butrather, any collection of servers or other similar hardwareconfigurations distributively configured to perform the functionalitydisclosed herein.

In some embodiments, the network operator may also provide incentives tousers to minimize the amount of data utilized by their electronicdevices. For example, some access products may be associated with aconsumption cap. If an electronic device fails to reach the consumptioncap, the balance may be pro-rated and refunded to the user. Additionallyor alternatively, the network operator may credit a rewards accountcorresponding to the user with a number of rewards point proportional tothe amount of unconsumed data. In some embodiments, the incentive mayadditionally or alternatively be based upon an average bandwidthutilized by the electronic device for a time interval.

FIG. 1 depicts an embodiment of an exemplary environment 100 capable ofperforming the presence-based network authentication capabilities asdescribed herein. The environment 100 may include a local network 105and an external network 145. Although FIG. 1 depicts only a single localnetwork 105, in some embodiments a network operator may implement aplurality of local networks 105. For example, a network operator mayimplement a local network 105 within each of a plurality of vehicles(such as airplanes, trains, boats, cars, and so on). The environment 100may be associated with at least two communication links; a localcommunication link 137 to provide connectivity to electronic devices 110while the electronic devices 110 are disposed within the local network105, and an external communication link 147 between the local network105 and an external network 145 connected to a public switched telephonenetwork (PSTN) 190 and/or the internet 195. Although the externalcommunication link 147 is depicted as a singular communication link, theexternal communication link 147 may comprise a plurality of individualcommunication links. For example, the communication link 147 may includeany combination of an Air-to-Ground communication link, a satellitecommunication link, an Ethernet communication link, and/or any othercommunicated link associated with capacity constraints.

To this end, the communication system may contain one or more modems 115configured to be compatible with a plurality of different communicationstandards utilized by the local communication link 137 and the externalcommunication link 147. For example, the local communication link 137and the external communication link 147 may utilize communicationprotocols associated with terrestrial communications (e.g., TDMA, GSM,CDMA, GSM, LTE, WiMAX, Wi-Fi, Ethernet, etc.) and/or associated withfrequencies in the K_(a) band, the K_(u) band, the L band, and/or anyother suitable wireless communication frequency bands. Each of theplurality of modems 115 may be connected to a transmitter (not depicted)for transmitting and receiving communications from the external network.In embodiments where the external communication link 147 is a wirelesscommunication link, the transmitter include one or more antennas. Inembodiments where the external communication link 147 is a wiredcommunication link, the transmitter may include an Ethernet transmitter.

Generally speaking, the electronic devices 110 may send and receive dataover the local communication link 137 via access points 125. Theelectronic devices 110 may include any mobile computing device, such asa smartphone, a tablet, a laptop computer, a personal digital assistant,an e-reader, smart glasses, smart watches, or any other mobile computingdevice capable of wireless communications.

The environment 100 may also include an authentication server 120 tocontrol access to the local communication link 137 and/or the externalcommunication link 147. To this end, the authentication server 120 mayinterpret a set of non-transitory, computer-readable instructions toperform the bandwidth optimization techniques described herein. As partof the bandwidth optimization techniques, the authentication server 120may interact with a profile database 150 to assign, update, and/ormaintain an access profile storing parameters associated with particularaspects of the network experience for each of the electronic devices110. In some scenarios, after the electronic devices 110 register withthe authentication server 120, the authentication server 120 may querythe profile database 150. If there are access profiles in the profiledatabase 150 corresponding to the electronic devices 110, then theauthentication server 120 may assign the electronic devices 110 thestored access profiles. Conversely, if there is not currently an accessprofile associated with the electronic devices 110, the authenticationserver 120 may assign a default access profile to the electronic devices110. The authentication server 120 may be further configured to monitorthe local communication link 137 to detect any indications transmittedfrom the electronic devices 110 that a user of the electronic devices110 wishes to change a corresponding access profile. In response, theauthentication server 120 may interact with the profile database 150 toupdate the corresponding access profile with the indicated changes.

In addition to storing access profiles, the profile database 150 mayalso store a usage profile corresponding to the electronic devices 110.The usage profile may include historical records that indicate withwhich applications and/or services the electronic devices 110communicated. In particular, the usage profile may list any applicationwith which the electronic devices 110 communicated, when thecommunications occurred, and/or an amount of data communicated. In someembodiments, individual applications may be assigned a category (such asentertainment, news, sports, music, video, and so on). Accordingly, theusage profile may also store historical records at a category level, aswell as at an application level.

Although FIG. 1 depicts the profile database 150 interconnected with theauthentication server 120, in some embodiments, the profile database 150may actually be a component of the authentication server 120.Furthermore, although FIG. 1 depicts the profile database within thelocal network 105, it should be appreciated that the profile database150 may additionally or alternatively be located outside of the localnetwork 105, such as at a location accessible via the external network145. For example, in some embodiments, a network operator may implementa centralized profile database (not depicted) which maintains a masterdatabase of all user access profiles. In these embodiments, each localdatabase 150 located within a local network (such as the local network105) may be periodically synchronized with the centralized profiledatabase. In these embodiments, any changes made to an access profilestored by the profile database 150 within the local network 105 arepropagated to first to the centralized profile database, then everyother profile database 150 located in each other local network 105. As aresult, the electronic devices 110 may be associated with the sameaccess profile as the electronic devices are carried within any localnetwork 105 operated by the network operator.

The local network 105 may also include a network regulation entity 140for controlling data communicated over the external communication link147. To this end, any data generated by the electronic devices 110within the local network 105 may be routed to the network regulationserver 140 prior to transmission over the external communication link147. If the network regulation server 140 determines that data should betransmitted over the external communication link 147, network regulationserver 140 may route the data to the plurality of modems 115 whichforward and/or transmit this data to the external network 145 via theexternal communication link 147 for routing to the addressed locationvia, for example, the PSTN 190 or the internet 195. As part of thisdetermination, the network regulation server 140 may then query theprofile database 150 to retrieve an access profile associated with theelectronic devices 110. To this end, the network regulation server 140may identify a particular electronic device 110 by analyzing the headerof a data packet routed to the network regulation server 140. Thenetwork regulation server 140 may then retrieve the access profilestored in the profile database 150 corresponding to the particularelectronic device 110. The network regulation server 140 may thenprocess the data packet in accordance with the access profile. Forexample, depending on the particular parameters stored in the retrievedaccess profile, the network regulation server 140 may block the datapacket, delay the transmission of the data packet, transmit the datapacket, prioritize, de-prioritize, and/or perform any other networkregulation activity.

In some embodiments, the network regulation server 140 may analyze aseries of data packets received from a particular electronic device 110to determine the appropriate network regulation activity. As an example,the access profile may indicate that communications relating to VOIPshould be blocked and communications relating to web browsing may beallowed. In this example, the network regulation server 150 maydetermine whether a data packet corresponds to a VOIP call by, forexample, analyzing a destination address and comparing the destinationaddress to list of known VOIP destinations. However, the destinationaddress may not always be readily obtained. Accordingly, the networkregulation server 140 may instead analyze a series of data packets(i.e., traffic) transmitted by a particular electronic device 110 todetermine whether the series of data packets exhibit characteristics ofa VOIP call.

Turning to FIG. 2, illustrated is an example signal diagram 200 in whicha network regulation server 240, such as the network regulation server140, regulates traffic originated by an electronic device 210, such asone of the electronic devices 110. The network regulation server may beinterconnected with a profile database 250, such as the profile database150.

The signal diagram 200 may begin when the electronic device 210communicates with an authentication server 220, such as theauthentication server 120, to register (221) with a local network (notdepicted), such as the local network 105. As part of the registrationprocess, the electronic device 210 may transmit credentials to theauthentication server 220. For example, the electronic device maytransmit a device identity (e.g., IMSI, MEID, ICCID, pESN, MAC address,and so on), a password (e.g., a WEP password, a WPA password, and soon), and/or an indication that the operator of the device is human(e.g., a CAPTCHA response). Upon the authentication server 220determining that the electronic device 210 transmitted the correctcredentials, the authentication server 220 may authenticate theelectronic device 210 to communicate over the local network.

According to aspects, to authenticate the electronic device 210, theauthentication server 220 may query (225) the profile database 250 toassign the electronic device 210 an access profile. To this end, theauthentication server 220 may utilize the device identity to search fora record in the profile database 250 that corresponds to the electronicdevice 210. For example, the electronic device 210 may have beenutilized within a local network operated by the same (or affiliated)network operator as the current local network. Accordingly, the profiledatabase 250 may already store a record corresponding to the electronicdevice 210 indicating any services that the user of the electronicdevice 210 may have purchased (e.g., the electronic device is associatedwith a multi-use access package) and/or any preferences for regulatingapplications and/or application categories. In scenarios in which theelectronic device 210 does not correspond to a profile within theprofile database 250, the profile database 250 may store a defaultand/or basic access profile for use with new electronic devices. Inthese scenarios, the authentication server 220 may create a new recordwithin the profile database 250 based upon the default and/or basicaccess profile corresponding to the electronic device 210.

According to aspects, the authentication server 220 may then assign(229) the electronic device 210 the appropriate access profile (i.e.,the corresponding stored access profile and/or the default accessprofile). In order to actually assign the access profile to theelectronic device 210, the authentication server 220 may generate andassign the electronic device 210 an IP address on the local network. Theauthentication server 220 may then store the assigned IP address in theprofile database 250 in an electronic record that corresponds to theelectronic device 210. It should be appreciated that the IP addressfield in the profile database record may be NULL or a specific valuethat indicates an unassigned IP address whenever the electronic device210 is not authenticated with a local network.

At some point after the initial assignment of the access profile, theauthentication server 220 may detect that the electronic device 210 isrequesting (233) an update to the corresponding access profile. Therequest may be transmitted in response to the user of the electronicdevice 210 purchasing a service product upon an initial registration(e.g., when the user purchases an access product, such as, for example,via a captive portal presented upon initial use of the local network)and/or in response to the user modifying a particular regulationactivity for an application and/or category of applications (e.g., byinteracting with a usage summary interface). If the request is inresponse to the purchase of an access product, the request may identifythe access product purchased (such as by use of a product code number).The authentication server 220 may then correlate the identification to aset of access parameters associated with the purchased access product.On the other hand, if the request is in response to a user interactionwith a usage summary interface, the request may indicate a specificapplication (and/or application category) and the regulation activityindicated by the user of the electronic device 210. In any event, theauthentication server 220 may determine a set of changes to make to theaccess profile in the profile database 250 which corresponds to theelectronic device 210. The authentication server 220 may then update(237) the corresponding electronic record in the profile database 250 inaccordance with the determined set of changes. Although the signaldiagram 200 depicts the authentication server 220 receiving the updateand updating the access profile, it is envisioned that the networkregulation server 240 may additionally or alternatively perform thesesteps.

After the access profile is updated, the electronic device 210 maytransmit (241) a plurality of data packets (i.e., traffic) over thelocal network. The traffic may be routed to the network regulationserver 240 for processing prior to transmission to an external network.In response, the network regulation server 240 may extract an IP addressfrom the header of the individual data packets. The network regulationserver 240 may then use the extracted IP address to query (245) theprofile database 250 in order to identify the access parameters storedin the access profile corresponding to the electronic device 210.

The network regulation server 240 may also categorize (249) the traffictransmitted by the electronic device 210. The categorization may beginby first identifying a number of communication sessions in which theelectronic device 210 is currently engaged. In many scenarios, theelectronic device 210 may communicate with a plurality of differentapplications simultaneously (i.e., engaged in a plurality of differentcommunication sessions simultaneously). Thus, the network regulationserver 240 may identify that the traffic currently supports multiplecommunication sessions. The network regulation server 240 may thenseparate the traffic into individual data streams corresponding to eachcommunication session. The network regulation server 240 may furthercorrespond the data stream to an application and/or applicationcategory. As an example, a communication session may correspond to anapplication through analysis of a destination address indicated by theheader of a data packet. To this end, the network regulation server 240may be associated with a reference table that maps popular destinationaddresses and/or strings within a FQDN to an application name and/or anapplication category. Accordingly, the network regulation server 240 mayseparate the traffic into individual communication sessions based uponthe destination address and then, utilizing the destination address,query the reference table to identify an application supported by eachcommunication session within the traffic. In some embodiments, thenetwork regulation server 240 may also further categorize eachcommunication session as belonging to a category of applications.

While the mapping table may enable the network operator to determine theapplication name and/or category for many types of applications, thelookup table may not be effective for identifying applications thattransmit data via secured communications. For example, when anelectronic device is engaged in a VPN connection, the destinationaddress of the traffic may be the address of the VPN server regardlessof specific type of data being communicated. For these types ofcommunications, when the electronic device 210 is engaged in a videoconferencing call within a VPN session the destination address may beinsufficient to categorize the traffic as a video conference call.Accordingly, when the network regulation server 240 determines that theelectronic device 210 is engaged in a secured communication, the networkregulation server 240 may analyze a plurality of characteristics of thedata stream to determine a probable application category for thecommunication session within the secured communication session. Forexample, VOIP calls and/or streaming video may be associated with aparticular set of transmission characteristics. Accordingly, the networkregulation server 240 may compare measured transmission characteristicsof the data stream addressed to the secured server to known sets oftransmission characteristics indicative of particular types ofapplications and/or application categories. As a result of thiscomparison, the network regulation server 240 may be able to identify anapplication and/or application category corresponding to the securedcommunication session.

After the network regulation server 240 has identified the applicationand/or application category of each communication session and/or datastream within the received traffic, the network regulation server 240may regulate (253) the traffic in accordance with the access profilecorresponding to the electronic deice 210. To this end, the networkregulation server 240 may compare each application and/or applicationcategory associated with a data stream to the queried access profile todetermine a respective regulation activity to apply to each data stream.For example, the access profile may indicate that video traffic shouldbe blocked but email traffic should be allowed. In this example, if theelectronic device 210 transmits both video and email data, the networkregulation server 240 may block the video data from being transmitted toan external network; whereas the network regulation server 240 may routethe email data over an external communication link to respectivelycorresponding destination addresses.

In some embodiments, the regulation activity may involve traffic shapingtechniques. For example, the access profile may indicate that a datastream should be rate limited, prioritized, or de-prioritized. In therate limiting example, the network regulation server 240 may calculate abyte volume for the data packets comprising a particular communicationsession. If the byte volume exceeds a threshold value indicated by arate cap within the access profile, the network regulation server 240may delay and/or queue the transmission of some of the data packetswithin the data stream, thereby enforcing a maximum transmission ratefor the communication session.

In embodiments that implement packet prioritization, the networkregulation server 240 may associate all communication sessions with adefault priority, and, after identification and/or categorization of acommunication session as a particular application and/or applicationcategory, change the appropriate priority levels in accordance with theaccess profile. Thus, a regulation activity to prioritize orde-prioritize an application and/or application category may involvesetting a priority level above or below the default priority level.Furthermore, the network regulation server 240 may support varyinglevels of prioritization. For example, VPN traffic may be a assigned ahighest priority level and weather data may be assigned a high prioritylevel. In this example, the network regulation server 240 may assignboth VPN and weather communication sessions a higher than defaultpriority level but the VPN communication session may be assigned apriority level even higher than the weather communication session.

It should be appreciated that the regulation activities disclosedthroughout the present application may be utilized in combination withone another. For example, in the previous example, the access profilemay indicate that communications sessions with a particular weatherinformation provider should be blocked. Accordingly, the networkregulation server 240 may block communications with the particularweather information provider and still prioritize communications withother weather information providers.

To enforce the packet prioritization, the network regulation server 240may first calculate an overall byte volume of traffic received from theelectronic device 210. The network regulation server 240 may thencompare the overall byte volume to a maximum rate and/or bandwidth limitstored in the access profile corresponding to the electronic device 210.If the overall byte volume is less than a threshold byte volume derivedfrom access profile parameters, the network regulation server 240 maytransmit all data packets transmitted by the electronic device 210 (thatare not otherwise regulated) over the external communication link. Inmany scenarios, however, the received byte volume may exceed thethreshold byte volume indicated by the corresponding access profile. Inthese scenarios, the network regulation server 240 may analyze thepriority data to determine an order by which the network regulationserver 240 routes the received data packets over the externalcommunication link. As an example, the network regulation server 240 mayfirst route the data packets associated with the highest priority leveluntil the maximum byte volume is reached. Once the threshold byte volumeis reached, any data packets that did not get transmitted may be queuedfor transmission when the electronic device 210 is transmitting lessdata.

It should be appreciated that if the electronic device 210 transmitsenough high priority data, lower priority data may be delayed to thepoint where the corresponding communication sessions time out. Thus, ineffect, the network regulation server 240 may inadvertently block thesecommunication sessions. Accordingly, the network regulation server 240may cap the amount of prioritized data at a threshold percentage of theoverall bandwidth assigned to the electronic device 210 whenever datapackets are queued for a later transmission. In one example, the networkregulation server 240 may cap prioritized communications at 65% of themaximum bandwidth and default priority communications at 25% of themaximum bandwidth. In this example, 10% of the maximum bandwidth isreserved for queued deprioritized communications. It should beappreciated that the proportions assigned to each cap, as well as anygrouping of different priority levels within a particular cap, may varydepending on the byte volume and priority level of the queued datapackets. As a result, network regulation server 240 may still enforcepacket prioritization while increasing the likelihood that lowerpriority communication sessions will not time out. Moreover, because thepriority levels are set by the user of the electronic device 210, thepacket prioritization techniques described with respect to the signaldiagram 200 conform to network neutrality principles.

According to certain aspects, after regulating the received traffic, thenetwork regulation server 240 may also update (257) a usage profilewithin the profile database 250 that corresponds to the electronicdevice 210. More particularly, the network regulation server 240 maytrack and/or other maintain statistics regarding any network regulationactivity performed by the network regulation server 240 to the receivedtraffic. As an example, the network regulation server 240 may maintainstatistics regarding a measured byte volume of the data packetscorresponding to a particular application and/or application category.For each application and/or application category, the network regulationserver 240 may also maintain statistics regarding, for example, a bytevolume of data that was allowed without applying traffic shapingtechniques, a byte volume of data that was blocked, a byte volume ofdata that was queued, and/or any other relevant statistics thatcharacterize how the network regulation server 240 regulated thereceived traffic. It should be appreciated that the usage profilesstored by the profile database 250 may correspond to the statisticsmaintained by the network regulation server 240. Accordingly, thenetwork regulation server 240 may utilize the maintained statistics toupdate the corresponding statistics stored within the usage profile toensure that the stored usage profile accurately indicates how thenetwork regulation server 240 has regulated the traffic received fromthe electronic device 210.

Turning now to FIG. 3, depicted is an exemplary interface 300 associatedwith a user purchasing an access product. The interface 300 may bepresented on an electronic device (such as one of the electronic devices110 or 210). Although FIG. 3 depicts the interface 300 being presentedby a smart phone, the interface 300 may be presented by any type ofelectronic device, such as a tablet, a laptop computer, a personaldigital assistant, an e-reader, smart glasses, smart watches, or anyother mobile computing device capable of wireless communications. Itshould be appreciated that FIG. 3 depicts only one exemplary interfaceand other interfaces may be implemented without departing from the scopeof the present disclosure. One such interface may be one thatfacilitates audio commands provided to a concierge application thatexecutes on the electronic device.

The exemplary interface 300 may be presented after a user carries theelectronic device within a local network configured to perform thedisclosed bandwidth optimization techniques (such as the local network105). More particularly, the interface 300 may be when the user of theelectronic device attempts to access a webpage and/or otherwisecommunicate over the local network. As depicted, the interface 300 mayrequest that the user purchases an access product associated with aprioritized set of applications. In the depicted example, the interface300 presents an option to select between a business traveler experience(whereby VPN and email applications may be preferred), a social mediauser experience (whereby social media applications may be preferred), avideo streamer experience (whereby video streaming applications may bepreferred), and a basic web browsing experience (whereby applicationsother than general web browsing may be blocked). The interface 300 mayalso display a cost corresponding to each available access product.

The interface 300 may be further configured to receive, as user input, aselection of a particular access product. As described above, the accessproduct may correspond to an access profile that prioritizesapplications in accordance with the user experience indicated by theaccess product. Accordingly, in response to receiving the user inputindicating a selection of an access product, the electronic device maytransmit a request over the local network indicating the selected accessproduct and/or an identity of the electronic device (e.g., an IMSI, aMEID, an ICCID, a pESN, a MAC address, and so on). In response, thelocal network may assign the indicated access profile to the electronicdevice. As result, when the electronic device subsequently transmit dataover the local network, the local network processes the data inaccordance with the purchased access profile.

FIG. 4 depicts an example flow diagram of an example method 400 forperforming the user-directed bandwidth optimization techniques. Themethod 400 may be performed by a network regulation server (such as oneof the network regulation servers 140 or 240) in communication with anelectronic device (such as one of the electronic devices 110 or 210)over a local network (such as the local networks 105). The networkregulation server may also be interconnected with a profile database(such as one of the profile databases 150 or 250) storing an accessprofile assigned to the electronic device.

The method 400 may begin when the network regulation server receivestraffic (i.e., a plurality of data packets) that was transmitted fromthe electronic device (block 405). The network regulation server maythen identify a plurality of communication sessions supported by thetraffic (block 410). The individual communication sessions may beidentified by analyzing header data included in the individual datapackets that comprise the traffic. After the network regulation serverhas identified the individual communication sessions, it may separatethe data packets within the traffic into data streams that correspond toindividual communication sessions.

The network regulation server may then correspond each data stream (andtherefore each communication session) with an application (block 415).To this end, the network regulation server may again analyze informationcontained within the header data. For example, the header data mayindicate a destination address. Accordingly, the network regulationserver may utilize the destination address to query a reference tablethat correlates particular addresses with applications. The networkregulation server may then query the access profile corresponding to theelectronic device to determine a priority level for the identifiedapplications (block 420). To this end, the access profile may storeindications of a priority level that should be assigned to theapplications. In some embodiments, the access profile may also storeindications of a priority level for applications comprising a pluralityof different application categories. Thus, the network regulation servermay assign to each identified application the priority level thatcorresponds to the one stored in the access profile for the respectiveapplication and/or application category.

After each application has been assigned a priority level, the networkregulation server may determine whether a measured byte volume for thetraffic exceeds a threshold proportion of an overall bandwidthallocation indicated by the access profile (decision 425). If themeasured byte volume of the traffic does not exceed the thresholdproportion (the “NO” fork), the network regulation server may routeand/or transmit data streams corresponding to applications associatedwith a first priority level (e.g., a comparatively higher prioritylevel) as well data streams corresponding to applications associatedwith a second priority level (e.g., a comparatively lower prioritylevel) to locations external the local network (block 435). Conversely,if the measured byte volume of the traffic exceeds the thresholdproportion (the “YES” fork), the network regulation server may routeand/or transmit data streams corresponding to applications associatedwith the first priority level to locations external the local network;whereas data streams corresponding to applications associated with thesecond priority level are queued (block 430). It should be appreciatedthat when the measured byte volume of the traffic falls back below thethreshold proportion of the total bandwidth allocation, the networkregulation server may then route the queued data streams to thelocations external the local network. Additionally, as described above,in some embodiments, the network regulation server may cap the amount ofdata assigned the first priority level to ensure that communicationsessions facilitated by queued data streams do not time out.

Referring to FIG. 5, depicted is an example interface 500 associatedwith a usage summary interface. The interface 500 may be presented on anelectronic device (such as one of the electronic devices 110 or 210).Although FIG. 5 depicts the interface 500 being presented on a displayof a smart phone, the interface 500 may be presented on a display of anytype of electronic device, such as a tablet, a laptop computer, apersonal digital assistant, an e-reader, smart glasses, smart watches,or any other mobile computing device capable of wireless communications.The interface 500 may include a display region in which the interface500 is able to control the information displayed on the display of theelectronic device. It should be appreciated that FIG. 5 depicts only oneexample interface and other interfaces may be implemented withoutdeparting from the scope of the present disclosure. For example, onesuch interface may incorporate an audio interface for receiving voicecommands provided via a concierge application executing on theelectronic device (e.g.,).

The exemplary interface 500 may be presented within applicationexecuting on the electronic device, for example, the interface 500 maybe presented by a web browser and/or an application distributed by anetwork operator. Accordingly, when the interface 500 is firstpresented, the electronic device may transmit a HTTP query to a networkregulation server (such as the network regulation server 140) or anauthentication server (such as the authentication server 120) within alocal network (such as the local network 105) to retrieve a plurality ofinformation about the applications the electronic device has interactedwith while connected to the local network. As depicted on the interface500, this information may be categorized by application and include anamount of data used and a currently assigned network regulation activityfor each application. The network regulation activities may includepermit, block, prioritize, de-prioritize, rate limit, etc. Further,although not depicted on the interface 500, the interface 500 may beconfigured to display other network usage statistics for eachapplication, including an amount of data blocked, a current or averagelatency, a current or average throughput of data, and other similarstatistics. Further still, although the interface 500 only lists sixapplications, the interface 500 may be configured to present usagestatistics for any number of applications with which the electronicdevice has interacted while within the local network. It should beappreciated that only a subset of all applications with which theelectronic device has interacted while within the local network may bepresented by the interface 500. According to certain aspects, theinterface 500 may also present an amount of incentives and/or rewardpoints (not depicted) earned based upon interactions between theelectronic device and the local network (e.g., data usage and/or theassigned regulation activities).

According to certain aspects, the interface 500 may include a selectableinterface element (the “setup” button) that, when selected, causes theelectronic device to present a secondary interface for customizing theinformation presented by the usage summary interface. For example, thesecondary interface may enable the user to select, modify, and/orcustomize which usage statistics are presented by the interface 500and/or enable the user to change a number of applications presented bythe interface 500. Consequently, the interface 500 and/or the electronicdevice may be configured to detect input to the secondary interface andtransmit an information request to the network regulation server and/orauthentication server to retrieve any information not previouslypresented by the interface 500.

Additionally, for each application displayed on the interface 500, theinterface 500 may also include a selectable interface element thatenables the user of the electronic device to modify the networkregulation activity performed to communication sessions that correspondto the application. As depicted on the interface 500, this interfaceelement may be the text indicating the network regulation activity. Itis envisioned that other interfaces may provide other selectableinterface elements, for example, a button labeled modify, a drop downmenu, a radio menu selection, and/or other known interface elements forreceiving a user selection. To this end, the interface 500 may beconfigured to detect that the user has modified a network regulationactivity for an application. In response, the interface 500 may causethe electronic device to transmit an instruction and/or request to thenetwork regulation server and/or authentication server to update aprofile in accordance with the user modification.

According to certain aspects, the interface 500 may be furtherconfigured to update the presented network usage statistics while theinterface 500 is being presented. To this end, some applications mayengage in background communication sessions, thus, the amount of dataused by a particular application may increase while the interface 500 ispresented by the electronic device. Further, some usage statistic mayrepresent a transient characteristic about a communication sessions(e.g., throughput and latency). In order to ensure that interface 500presents current network usage statistics, the interface 500 may causethe electronic device to periodically poll the network regulation serverand/or authentication server to receive updated network usagestatistics. It should be appreciated that in some embodiments, theupdate period may be configured to be small enough to make the networkusage statistics appear to the user as if the statistics are updating inreal time.

FIG. 6 depicts an example flow diagram of an example method 600 forperforming the usage-based bandwidth optimization techniques describedherein. The method 600 may be performed by a network regulation server(such as one of the network regulation servers 140 or 240) incommunication with an electronic device (such as one of the electronicdevices 110 or 210) over a local network (such as the local network105). The network regulation server may also be interconnected with aprofile database (such as one of the profile databases 150 or 250)storing an electronic record corresponding to the electronic device.

The method 600 may begin by maintaining the electronic record stored inthe profile database that corresponds to the electronic device (block605). The profile may include both an access profile that indicateswhich regulation activity should be performed on data corresponding toeach plurality of applications, as well as a usage profile whichindicates a plurality of usage statistics for the plurality ofapplications. As part of maintaining the electronic record, the networkregulation server may update the usage statistics in response toprocessing data transmitted by the electronic device. This may involvesimilar actions as those described with respect to step 257 of thesignal diagram 200.

According to certain aspects, the network regulation server may detectthat the electronic device is attempting to view a usage summaryinterface. For example, the local network may associate the usagesummary interface with a particular IP address on the local network.Accordingly, when the network regulation server detects that theelectronic device is attempting to navigate to the particular IPaddress, the network regulation server may cause the usage summaryinterface to be presented to the user by the electronic device (block610). To this end, the network regulation server may generate a set ofcomputer readable instructions to be executed by the electronic device.These instructions may include HTML resources, JavaScript applets, aCascading Style Sheets component and/or other known software elementsthat facilitate the remote presentation of a user interface. As part ofgenerating the instructions, the network regulation server may query theusage profile to determine values for the various usage statistics andregulation activities presented by the usage summary interface. Thesequeried values may then be incorporated into the generated instructions.According to certain aspects, the request received by the networkregulation server may include an indication of the specific usagestatistics the electronic device is attempting to present to the uservia the usage summary interface. Upon generating the instructions, thenetwork regulation server may transmit the generated instructions to theelectronic device for execution.

At some point after the network regulation server transmits thegenerated instructions to the electronic device, the network regulationserver may receive an instruction to modify a regulation activity for aparticular application (block 615). As an example, the regulationactivity for the particular application may currently permit datapackets to be routed over an external communication link. In thisexample, the received instruction may indicate that user wishes tochange the regulation activity for the particular application to blockdata packets from being routed over the external communication link. Inresponse, the network regulation server may update the profilecorresponding to the electronic device in the profile database inaccordance with the received instruction (block 620). More particularly,the network regulation server may update the access profilecorresponding to the electronic device to indicate that data packetsthat correspond to the particular application should be regulated asindicated by the received instruction. Further, because the receivedinstruction is generated at the direction of the user of the electronicdevice, the change to the access profile may comply with networkneutrality principles.

In some optional embodiments, the network regulation server may alsoreceive an information request from the electronic device aftertransmitting the generated instructions to the electronic device. Tothis end, the information request may indicate that the usage summaryprofile settings have been modified to present information that was notpreviously presented. For example, the user of the electronic device mayhave interacted with the electronic device to change the usagestatistics presented by the usage summary interface and/or change thenumber of applications presented by the usage summary interface. Inresponse, the network regulation server may query the usage profilecorresponding to the electronic device to retrieve the requestedinformation. For example, the information request may indicate that theusage summary interface settings have been modified to indicate that thelatency for a particular application should now be presented by theusage summary interface. Accordingly, the network regulation server mayquery the usage profile for the electronic device to retrieve thelatency value corresponding to the particular application. Uponretrieval, the network regulation server may transmit the latency valueto the electronic device for presentation by the usage summaryinterface. Similarly, in response to an information request for anapplication not previously presented by the usage summary interface, thenetwork regulation server may retrieve and transmit information storedin the usage profile for the indicated application.

Subsequently, the network regulation server may then receive a pluralityof data packets addressed to locations external the local network (i.e.,traffic) from the electronic device (block 625). The network regulationserver may then analyze the received data packets to identify aplurality of communication sessions supported by the data packets (block630). According to certain aspects, if the electronic device attemptedto send data packets associated with the particular application, thenthe network regulation server will identify one of the plurality ofcommunication sessions as corresponding to the particular application(block 635). As a result, the network regulation server may perform theregulation activity indicated in the received instruction to thecommunication session that corresponds to the particular application(block 640). It should be appreciated that the actions performed atblocks 620-640 may involve substantially similar actions to thosedescribed with respect to steps 241-253 of the signal diagram 200,respectively. Further, the steps performed as part of the method 600 mayadditionally or alternatively be performed by the authentication serverinstead of the network regulation server.

Turning to FIG. 7, illustrated is an example signal diagram 700 in whicha network regulation server 740, such as one of the network regulationserver 140 or 240, generates an access profile configurationnotification for an electronic device 710, such as one of the electronicdevices 110 or 210. The network regulation server may be interconnectedwith a profile database 750, such as one of the profile database 150 or250.

The signal diagram 700 may begin when the electronic device 710transmits (705) traffic over a local network (such as the local network105). For example, the traffic may be address to various locationsexternal the local network to support a plurality of communicationsessions with a plurality of applications. According to aspects, thetraffic may be routed to the network regulation server 740 forprocessing prior to transmission to an external network. Additionally,the network regulation server 740 may analyze the traffic to generate aplurality of usage statistics characterizing the traffic. Aftergenerating the usage statistics, the network regulation server 740 mayupdate (709) the usage profile within the profile database thatcorresponds to the electronic device 710. This update to the usageprofile may occur in a similar manner as described with respect to step257 of the signal diagram 200.

At some point after the usage profile corresponding to the electronicdevice 710 contains usage statistics, the network regulation server 740may compare (713) the usage profile to an access profile that alsocorresponds to the electronic device 710. The network regulation server740 may then analyze the usage profile to determine an amount of datautilized by each application and/or application category. As part of thecomparison, the network regulation server 740 may determine whether theuser of the electronic device 710 has purchased the most appropriateaccess product based on actual usage of the local network.

To this end, each access product may be associated with an expectedproportion of data and/or bandwidth usage by application category. Forexample, a Social Media User access product may expect a higherproportion of data and/or bandwidth to be utilized by applications suchas Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Snapchat, etc. (e.g., applicationsfalling within a social media based application category) than a VideoStreamer access product expects. Similarly, the Social Media User accessproduct may expect a lower proportion of data and/or bandwidth to beutilized by applications such as YouTube, Netflix, Hulu, etc.(applications falling within a video streaming based applicationcategory) than the Video Streamer access product. It should beappreciated that because video streaming generally utilizes morebandwidth and/or data than social media, in some embodiments, the SocialMedia User access product may still expect a larger proportion of dataand/or bandwidth for video streaming applications than social mediaapplications.

Accordingly, to perform the comparison, the network regulation server740 may analyze the usage statistics in the usage profile correspondingto the electronic device 710 to determine a relative amount of dataand/or bandwidth for a plurality of application categories. Thus, thenetwork regulation server 740 may then compare the determined relativeproportions of data utilized by each application and/or applicationcategory to an expected proportion of data for each application and/orapplication category for the purchased access product and at least oneother access product available for purchase. More particularly, thenetwork regulation server 740 may calculate a mathematical distancebetween the application category proportions indicated by the usageprofile to the expected proportions for the current purchased accessproduct and at least one alternate access product available forpurchase. Accordingly, if the mathematical distance between the actualproportions of usage and those expected by the purchased access productis less than the distance between as compared to the proportionsexpected by the alternative access products, the usage profile may becongruent with the access profile.

Another example comparison may include the network regulation server 740determining that the usage profile indicates that a particularapplication is utilizing a disproportionate amount of data and/orbandwidth as compared to other applications. To this end, the particularapplication may exceed a threshold proportion of an overall amount ofdata and/or bandwidth (e.g., 40%) or may exceed the amount of dataand/or bandwidth utilized by a next highest application by a thresholdproportion (e.g., 10%). In this scenario, the comparison may furtherinvolve comparing the particular application to an access product and/orto a priority level in the access profile associated with the particularapplication and/or application category. To this end, if the particularapplication corresponds to a high priority level, the disproportionatedata and/or bandwidth usage may be congruent with the access profile.

In some embodiments, the comparison may also involve analyzing the usageprofile to compare the usage statistics to conditions in which thenetwork operator will provide rewards points and/or incentives to theuser of the electronic device 710. For example, the access profile mayindicate that reward points may be credited if the electronic device 710achieves an average bandwidth for a fixed interval (e.g., an hour or aflight) below a threshold proportion (e.g., 80%) of a bandwidthallotment associated with the access product assigned to the electronicdevice 710. In this example, the comparison may involve identifying anyapplications for which a corresponding regulation activity may bemodified to increase the likelihood that the electronic device 710achieves the reward condition. It should be appreciated that thiscomparison may vary based upon the particular reward conditionimplemented in different embodiments.

After performing the comparison between the usage profile and the accessprofile, the network regulation server 740 may determine (Decision 717)whether the usage profile is anomalous with the access profile.Referring to the various comparisons described above, the usage profilemay be considered anomalous to the access profile if the proportion ofdata utilized by each application and/or application category alignsmore closely with an access product other than the access productpurchased by the user (for example, as determined by comparingmathematical distances from the usage profile). Alternatively, the usageprofile may be anomalous with the access profile if a particularapplication utilizes a disproportionate amount of data and/or bandwidth,or if the user may modify a regulation activity for a particularapplication to increase the likelihood of achieving a reward condition.If the usage profile is not anomalous with the access profile (the “NO”fork), processing may return to the beginning of the signal diagram 700where the network regulation server 740 awaits further traffic from theelectronic device.

Conversely, if the usage profile is anomalous with the access profile(the “YES” fork), the network regulation server 740 may generate (721)and transmit (725) a notification to the electronic device 710. Thenotification may be generated such that the notification informs theuser that there is an anomalous condition between the correspondingusage profile and the access profile. According to certain aspects, thenotification may identify the anomalous condition and inform the userthat an access parameter (such as a regulation activity) may be modifiedto remedy the anomalous condition.

Further, the notification may be generated in accordance with one ofseveral different formats. For example, in some embodiments, thenotification may be a SMS or MMS message that includes a textualdescription of the anomalous condition and a link to open an interfaceto remedy the anomalous condition. Because most mobile phones areconfigured to be able to receive SMS messages, for certain types ofelectronic devices a SMS notification may be more likely to beinteroperable with the electronic device. In other embodiments, thenotification may take the form of a push message configured to presentthe notification via an application distributed by the network operator.Because the application is distributed by the network operator, when thepush message is received by an electronic device, a logo associated withthe network operator may be presented. Thus the push message format mayprovide more contextual information that the notification relates tousage of the local network.

Upon receiving the notification, the electronic device 710 may presentthe notification via a display. In response to the user interacting withthe notification (e.g., by selecting a link within the notification orby clicking or tapping the notification itself), the electronic device710 may present (729) an interface to remedy the anomalous condition. Itshould be appreciated that, based upon the anomalous condition, thenotification may be configured to present a different interface inresponse to a user interaction. To this end, if the anomalous conditionis related to the appropriateness of a purchased access product, theinterface presented may enable the user to purchase or otherwise causethe more appropriate access product to be assigned to the electronicdevice 710. One such example interface may be interface 300 describedwith respect to FIG. 3. On the other hand, if the anomalous conditionmay be remedied by changing a regulation activity for a particularapplication and/or application category, the interface presented mayenable the user to modify a regulation activity associated with theparticular application and/or application category. One such exampleinterface may be the interface 500 described with respect to FIG. 5. Itshould be appreciated that because the anomalous condition is remediedat the user's direction via the presented interface, the signal diagram700 may comply with network neutrality principles.

Turning now to FIG. 8, depicted is an exemplary interface 800 associatedwith the access profile configuration notification. The interface 800may be presented on an electronic device (such as one of the electronicdevices 110, 210, or 710). Although FIG. 8 depicts the interface 800being presented by a smart phone, the interface 800 may be presented byany type of electronic device, such as a tablet, a laptop computer, apersonal digital assistant, an e-reader, smart glasses, smart watches,or any other mobile computing device capable of wireless communications.It should be appreciated that FIG. 8 depicts only one exemplaryinterface and other interfaces may be implemented without departing fromthe scope of the present disclosure. One such interface may be one thatfacilitates audio commands provided to a concierge application thatexecutes on the electronic device.

As depicted in FIG. 8, the interface 800 may include a notificationregion. Although the interface 800 depicts the notification region atthe top of a display, the notification region may located at anylocation on the display. According to aspects, when the electronicdevice receives notifications, such as via a push message or SMSmessage, the notification may appear in the notification region. In thedepicted scenario, the notification may include a suggestion of a changethat may be made to an access profile corresponding to the electronicdevice that may remedy any anomalous usage condition (“Based on yournetwork usage . . . ”).

According to certain aspects, the notification may be configured suchthat a new interface is presented in response to a user interaction withthe notification. For example, as indicated by the depicted logo in thenotification region, the electronic device may have an applicationassociated with a network operator installed. Accordingly, thenotification may have been configured to indicate to the applicationthat the anomalous usage condition exists. In response, the applicationmay have caused the notification to appear in the notification regionsas depicted by the interface 800. The electronic device may furthermonitor the notification while it is presented in the notificationregion to await the reception of user input (e.g., a tap or click). Uponreceiving the user interaction, the application may cause the electronicdevice to present another interface to enable the user to remedy theanomalous condition. For example, in the depicted scenario, theapplication may cause the electronic device to present an interface(such as an interface within the application or an interface as part ofa web browser) to purchase the Video Streamer access product.

Referring now to FIG. 9, depicted is an example flow diagram of anexample method 900 for generating a network profile configurationassistance notification described herein. The method 900 may beperformed by a network regulation server (such as one of the networkregulation servers 140, 240, or 740) in communication with a pluralityof electronic devices (such as a plurality of the electronic devices110, 210, or 710) over a local network (such as the local network 105).The network regulation server may also be interconnected with a profiledatabase (such as one of the profile databases 150, 250, or 750) storingan electronic record corresponding to the plurality of electronicdevices.

The method 900 may begin when the network regulation server receives aplurality of data packets or traffic from the plurality of electronicdevices (block 905). To this end, an access point within the localnetwork may route the plurality of data packets to the networkregulation server if the data packets are addressed to a locationexternal to the local network. In response, the network regulationserver may analyze the plurality of data packets (block 910). Moreparticularly, the network regulation server may segment the plurality ofdata packets into a plurality of sets of data packets based upon theparticular electronic device from which each set of data packetsoriginated. For example, the origination electronic device may bedetermined by analyzing header data to determine an origination IPaddress, a device identity (e.g., MEID, MAC address, pESN, etc.), oruser account information. For each set of data packets originating froma different electronic device, the network regulation analyze the set ofdata packets to determine a regulation activity to apply to the set ofdata packets, as well as generate a plurality of usage statisticscharacterizing the set of data packets. Further, after generating theplurality of usage statistics, the network regulation server may updatea usage profile corresponding to the origination electronic device toinclude the generated usage statistics (block 915).

According to aspects, the network regulation server may periodicallyanalyze each electronic record in the profile database to ensure thatthe corresponding usage profile is not anomalous with the correspondingaccess profile. To this end, the network regulation server may comparethe usage statistics within the corresponding usage profile to thecorresponding access profile (block 920). Based on this comparison, thenetwork regulation server may determine that a usage profilecorresponding to a particular electronic device is anomalous with thecorresponding access profile (block 925). For example, the usagestatistics within the usage profile may indicate that the electronicdevice has been utilized in manner more congruent with an access productother than the one purchased by the user of the electronic device.

For each electronic record in which the corresponding usage profile isanomalous with the corresponding access profile, the network regulationserver may generate a notification to be presented by the correspondingelectronic device (block 930). To this end, the notification may informthe user of the corresponding electronic device as to the existence ofthe anomalous condition, and, in response to a user interaction with thenotification, cause the corresponding electronic device to presentanother interface that enables the user to remedy the anomalouscondition. Accordingly, after a notification intended for a particularelectronic device is generated, the network regulation server may thentransmit the notification to the particular electronic device (block935). It should be appreciated that the method of transmission fordifferent notifications may vary between and among different electronicdevices. As one example, the network generation server may transmit anotification via SMS to a mobile phone, whereas the network generationserver may transmit a notification via Wi-Fi to a laptop.

FIG. 10 illustrates a block diagram of an example network regulationserver 1040 (such as one of the network regulation servers 140 or 240)that may be utilized in the local network 105. The network regulationserver 1040 may include, for example, one more central processing units(CPUs) or processors 1052, and one or more busses or hubs 1053 thatconnect the processor(s) 1052 to other elements of the networkregulation server 1040, such as a volatile memory 1054, a non-volatilememory 1055, a display controller 1056, and an I/O controller 1057. Thevolatile memory 1054 and the non-volatile memory 1055 may each includeone or more non-transitory, tangible computer readable storage mediasuch as random access memory (RAM), read only memory (ROM), FLASHmemory, a biological memory, a hard disk drive, a digital versatile disk(DVD) disk drive, etc.

In an embodiment, the memory 1054 and/or the memory 1055 may storeinstructions 1058 that are executable by the processor 1052. Forexample, in an authentication server particularly configured to performthe bandwidth-optimization techniques described herein, the instructionsmay be the instructions executed by the network regulation server 140.In some embodiments, at least one of the memories 1054 and 1055 mayadditionally store an application reference table utilized to correlateheader data to an application. Additionally, the bus 1053 mayinterconnect the network regulation server 1040 with a profile database(not depicted), such as the profile database 150, that stores aplurality of access profiles and usage profiles corresponding to aplurality of electronic device utilizing the local network.

The network regulation server 1040 may also include network interfaces1077 controlled by the I/O control 1057. The network interfaces 1077 maybe any number of antenna, transmitters, receivers, transceivers, etc.specifically configured to transmit or receive data at a particularfrequency and/or frequency range. To this end, the instructions mayinclude instructions that, when executed by the processors 1052, causethe network interfaces 1077 to transmit data over a local communicationlink and/or an external communication link. Similarly, when the networkinterfaces 1077 receives data, the instructions may include instructionsthat cause the processors 1052 to analyze and/or process the receiveddata.

In some embodiments, the network regulation server 1040 may also performany number of actions described herein with respect to an authenticationserver, such as the authentication server 120. In these embodiments, theinstructions stored in the memories 1054 and 1055 may also includeinstructions to perform the actions described with respect to theauthentication server. Accordingly, any reference to an authenticationserver being a distinct entity from a network regulation server is donefor ease of explanation, and does not require the implementation of twodistinct hardware modules.

The illustrated network regulation server 1040 is only one example of anetwork regulation server suitable to be particularly configured for usein the local network 105. Other embodiments of the network regulationserver 1040 may also be particularly configured for use in the localnetwork 105, even if the other embodiments have additional, fewer, oralternative components than shown in FIG. 10, have one or more combinedcomponents, or have a different configuration or arrangement of thecomponents. Moreover, the various components shown in FIG. 10 can beimplemented in hardware, a processor executing software instructions, ora combination of both hardware and a processor executing softwareinstructions, including one or more signal processing and/or applicationspecific integrated circuits.

FIG. 11 illustrates a block diagram of an electronic device 1110 (suchas one of the electronic device 110 or 210) that may be utilized in thelocal network 105. The electronic device 1110 may include, for example,one more central processing units (CPUs) or processors 1152, and one ormore busses or hubs 1153 that connect the processor(s) 1152 to otherelements of the electronic device 1110, such as a volatile memory 1154,a non-volatile memory 1155, a display controller 1156, and an I/Ocontroller 1157. The volatile memory 1154 and the non-volatile memory1155 may each include one or more non-transitory, tangible computerreadable storage media such as random access memory (RAM), read onlymemory (ROM), FLASH memory, a biological memory, a hard disk drive, adigital versatile disk (DVD) disk drive, etc.

In an embodiment, the memory 1154 and/or the memory 1155 may storeinstructions 1158 that are executable by the processor 1152. Forexample, in an electronic device particularly configured to perform thebandwidth-optimization techniques described herein, the instructions maybe the instructions executed by the electronic device 1110. In someembodiments, the instructions may include instructions that, whenexecuted by the processors 1152, cause at least one of the displaycontrol 1156 or the I/O control 1157 to present the user interfacesdescribed above. In some embodiments, at least one of the memories 1054and 1055 may additionally store a network operator distributedapplication. The network operator distributed application may include aset of instructions that enables the electronic device 1110 to receivepush messages from the network operator as well as present some of theuser interfaces described herein.

Additionally, the electronic device 1110 may include network interfaces1177 controlled by the I/O control 1157. The network interfaces 1177 maybe any number of antenna, transmitters, receivers, transceivers, etc.specifically configured to transmit or receive data at a particularfrequency and/or frequency range. To this end, the instructions mayinclude instructions that, when executed by the processors 1152, causethe network interfaces 1177 to transmit data over a local communicationlink. Similarly, when the network interfaces 1177 receives data via thelocal communication link, the instructions may include instructions thatcause the processors 1152 to analyze and/or process the received data.

The illustrated electronic device 1110 is only one example of anelectronic device suitable to be particularly configured for use in thelocal network 105. Other embodiments of the electronic device 1110 mayalso be particularly configured for use in the local network 105, evenif the other embodiments have additional, fewer, or alternativecomponents than shown in FIG. 11, have one or more combined components,or have a different configuration or arrangement of the components.Moreover, the various components shown in FIG. 11 can be implemented inhardware, a processor executing software instructions, or a combinationof both hardware and a processor executing software instructions,including one or more signal processing and/or application specificintegrated circuits.

Of course, the applications and benefits of the systems, methods andtechniques described herein are not limited to only the above examples.Many other applications and benefits are possible by using the systems,methods and techniques described herein.

Furthermore, when implemented, any of the methods and techniquesdescribed herein or portions thereof may be performed by executingsoftware stored in one or more non-transitory, tangible, computerreadable storage media or memories such as magnetic disks, laser disks,optical discs, semiconductor memories, biological memories, other memorydevices, or other storage media, in a RAM or ROM of a computer orprocessor, etc.

Moreover, although the foregoing text sets forth a detailed descriptionof numerous different embodiments, it should be understood that thescope of the patent is defined by the words of the claims set forth atthe end of this patent. The detailed description is to be construed asexemplary only and does not describe every possible embodiment becausedescribing every possible embodiment would be impractical, if notimpossible. Numerous alternative embodiments could be implemented, usingeither current technology or technology developed after the filing dateof this patent, which would still fall within the scope of the claims.By way of example, and not limitation, the disclosure hereincontemplates at least the following aspects:

1. A method for optimizing bandwidth usage, the method comprisingmaintaining, by one or more processors, an electronic record for anelectronic device, the electronic record including (i) an access profileindicating a plurality regulation activities for a plurality ofapplications, and (ii) a usage profile indicating a plurality of usagestatistics for the plurality of applications; causing, by the one ormore processors, a usage summary user interface to be presented on adisplay of the electronic device, wherein the usage summary userinterface presents indications of a portion of the plurality ofapplications and, for each of the indicated plurality of applications,the corresponding regulation activity and a portion of the correspondingplurality of usage statistics; receiving, from the electronic device andvia the usage summary user interface, an instruction to modify aregulation activity corresponding to a particular application, theinstruction indicating a particular regulation activity; updating, bythe one or more processors, the access profile corresponding to theelectronic device to indicate that the regulation activity for theparticular application is the indicated regulation activity; receiving,from the electronic device, a plurality of data packets addressed to alocation external to a local network; analyzing, by the one or moreprocessors, the plurality of data packets to identify a plurality ofcommunication sessions within the plurality of data packets;identifying, by the one or more processors, that the particularapplication corresponds to one of the plurality of communicationsessions; and performing, by the one or more processors, the indicatedregulation activity indicated to the communication session thatcorresponds to the particular application.

2. The method of the previous aspect, wherein the regulation activity isat least one of permit, block, prioritize, de-prioritize, or rate limit.

3. The method of any combination of the preceding aspects, whereincausing the usage summary interface to be presented on a display of theelectronic device further comprises transmitting, to the electronicdevice, one or more computer readable instructions generated based uponthe electronic record corresponding to the electronic device.

4. The method of any combination of the preceding aspects, whereintransmitting the computer readable instructions further comprisestransmitting, to the electronic device, at least one of an HTMLresource, a JavaScript applet, or a Cascading Style Sheets component.

5. The method of any combination of the preceding aspects, whereintransmitting the computer readable instructions further comprisesdetecting, by the one or more processors, that the plurality of usagestatistics within the usage profile corresponding to the electronicdevice has changed to a plurality of updated values; and transmitting,to the electronic device, an indication of the plurality of updatedvalues.

6. The method of any combination of the preceding aspects, whereincausing the usage summary interface to be presented on a display of theelectronic device further comprises causing, by the one or moreprocessors, the usage summary interface to include an interface elementthat, when selected, enables a user of the electronic device to modifythe indications presented by the usage summary interface.

7. The method of any combination of the preceding aspects, furthercomprising receiving, from the electronic device, an information requestfor information not previously presented by the usage summary interface;querying, by the one or more processors, the usage profile correspondingto the electronic device to retrieve the requested information; andtransmitting, to the electronic device, the requested information.

8. The method of any combination of the preceding aspects, wherein thereceiving the information request further comprises receiving, from theelectronic device, the information request for at least one of theplurality of usage statistics not previously presented by the usagesummary interface.

9. The method of any combination of the preceding aspects, wherein thereceiving the information request further comprises receiving, from theelectronic device, the information request for at least one of theplurality of applications not previously presented by the usage summaryinterface.

10. The method of any combination of the preceding aspects, wherein theplurality of usage statistics include at least one of an amount of datablocked, an amount of data used, a current latency, a currentthroughput, an average latency, or an average throughput.

11. A Graphical User Interface (GUI) for optimizing bandwidth usage, theGUI presented by an application executing on an electronic device,wherein the electronic device includes one or more processors, and amemory coupled to the one or more processors, the GUI comprising adisplay region for displaying a plurality of applications thatcorrespond to a plurality of data packets previously transmitted by theelectronic device to addresses external to a local network, wherein foreach listed application the display region further indicates (i) anetwork usage statistic and (ii) an indication of a network regulationactivity, and the display region includes a selectable interface elementthat enables a user of the electronic device to modify the networkregulation activity associated with the application; the display regionbeing further configured to, in response to the electronic devicetransmitting further data packets to addresses external to the localnetwork, automatically update the displayed list of applications and therespectively corresponding indications of network usage statistics foreach of the plurality of applications.

12. The GUI of the previous aspect, wherein to automatically update thedisplayed list of applications and the respectively correspondingindications of network usage statistics, the display region beingfurther configured to indicate updated network usage statistics, theupdated network usage statistics received by the electronic device inresponse to the GUI causing the electronic device to periodically poll aserver.

13. The GUI of any combination of aspects 11 to 12, wherein the GUIfurther comprises a selectable interface element that, when selected,causes the electronic device to present a secondary interface forcustomizing the information presented by the GUI.

14. The GUI of any combination of aspects 11 to 13, wherein the GUI isconfigured to detect input to the secondary interface indicating acustomization to the information presented by the GUI within the displayregion; and display, in the first display region, the indicatedcustomized information, the indicated customized information received bythe electronic device in response to the GUI causing the electronicdevice to transmit an information request to a server.

15. The GUI of any combination of aspects 11 to 14, wherein theindicated customized information is at least one of a usage statisticnot previously presented by the GUI or a number of applications withinthe displayed plurality of applications.

16. The GUI of any combination of aspects 11 to 15, wherein the usagestatistic is at least one of an amount of data blocked, an amount ofdata used, a current latency, a current throughput, an average latency,or an average throughput.

17. The GUI of any combination of aspects 11 to 16, wherein the displayregion is further configured to display an indication an amount ofreward points or incentives earned based upon interactions between theelectronic device and the local network.

18. The GUI of any combination of aspects 11 to 17, wherein theapplication executing on the electronic device is an applicationdistributed by an operator of a local network.

19. A system for optimizing bandwidth usage, the system comprising oneor more processors; a profile database storing an electronic recordcorresponding to an electronic device, the electronic record includingan access profile and a usage profile; and one or more non-transitory,computer-readable storage media storing computer-executable instructionsthat, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the system tocause, by the one or more processors, a usage summary user interface tobe presented on a display of the electronic device, wherein the usagesummary user interface presents indications of a plurality ofapplications and, for each of the indicated plurality of applications, acorresponding regulation activity and a usage statistic; receive, fromthe electronic device and via the usage summary user interface, aninstruction to modify a regulation activity corresponding to aparticular application, the instruction indicating a particularregulation activity; update, by the one or more processors, the accessprofile to indicate that the regulation activity for the particularapplication is the indicated regulation activity; receive, from theelectronic device, a plurality of data packets addressed to a locationexternal to a local network; analyze, by the one or more processors, theplurality of data packets to identify a plurality of communicationsessions within the plurality of data packets; identify, by the one ormore processors, that the particular application corresponds to one ofthe plurality of communication sessions; and perform, by the one or moreprocessors, the indicated regulation activity indicated to thecommunication session that corresponds to the particular application.

20. The system of the previous aspect, wherein to cause the usagesummary interface to be presented on a display of the electronic device,the computer-executable instructions, when executed by the one or moreprocessors, cause the system to transmit, to the electronic device, oneor more computer readable instructions generated based upon theelectronic record.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method for optimizing bandwidth usage, themethod comprising: maintaining, by one or more processors, an electronicrecord for an electronic device, the electronic record including (i) anaccess profile indicating a plurality regulation activities for aplurality of applications, and (ii) a usage profile indicating aplurality of usage statistics for the plurality of applications;causing, by the one or more processors, a usage summary user interfaceto be presented on a display of the electronic device, wherein the usagesummary user interface presents indications of a portion of theplurality of applications and, for each of the indicated plurality ofapplications, the corresponding regulation activity and a portion of thecorresponding plurality of usage statistics; receiving, from theelectronic device and via the usage summary user interface, aninstruction to modify a regulation activity corresponding to aparticular application, the instruction indicating a particularregulation activity; updating, by the one or more processors, the accessprofile corresponding to the electronic device to indicate that theregulation activity for the particular application is the indicatedregulation activity; receiving, from the electronic device, a pluralityof data packets addressed to a location external to a local network;analyzing, by the one or more processors, the plurality of data packetsto identify a plurality of communication sessions within the pluralityof data packets; identifying, by the one or more processors, that theparticular application corresponds to one of the plurality ofcommunication sessions; and performing, by the one or more processors,the indicated regulation activity indicated to the communication sessionthat corresponds to the particular application.
 2. The method of claim1, wherein the regulation activity is at least one of permit, block,prioritize, de-prioritize, or rate limit.
 3. The method of claim 1,wherein causing the usage summary interface to be presented on a displayof the electronic device further comprises: transmitting, to theelectronic device, one or more computer readable instructions generatedbased upon the electronic record corresponding to the electronic device.4. The method of claim 3, wherein transmitting the computer readableinstructions further comprises: transmitting, to the electronic device,at least one of an HTML resource, a JavaScript applet, or a CascadingStyle Sheets component.
 5. The method of claim 3, wherein transmittingthe computer readable instructions further comprises: detecting, by theone or more processors, that the plurality of usage statistics withinthe usage profile corresponding to the electronic device has changed toa plurality of updated values; and transmitting, to the electronicdevice, an indication of the plurality of updated values.
 6. The methodof claim 1, wherein causing the usage summary interface to be presentedon a display of the electronic device further comprises: causing, by theone or more processors, the usage summary interface to include aninterface element that, when selected, enables a user of the electronicdevice to modify the indications presented by the usage summaryinterface.
 7. The method of 6, further comprising: receiving, from theelectronic device, an information request for information not previouslypresented by the usage summary interface; querying, by the one or moreprocessors, the usage profile corresponding to the electronic device toretrieve the requested information; and transmitting, to the electronicdevice, the requested information.
 8. The method of claim 7, wherein thereceiving the information request further comprises: receiving, from theelectronic device, the information request for at least one of theplurality of usage statistics not previously presented by the usagesummary interface.
 9. The method of claim 7, wherein the receiving theinformation request further comprises: receiving, from the electronicdevice, the information request for at least one of the plurality ofapplications not previously presented by the usage summary interface.10. The method of claim 1, wherein the plurality of usage statisticsinclude at least one of an amount of data blocked, an amount of dataused, a current latency, a current throughput, an average latency, or anaverage throughput.
 11. A Graphical User Interface (GUI) for optimizingbandwidth usage, the GUI presented by an application executing on anelectronic device, wherein the electronic device includes one or moreprocessors, and a memory coupled to the one or more processors, the GUIcomprising: a display region for displaying a plurality of applicationsthat correspond to a plurality of data packets previously transmitted bythe electronic device to addresses external to a local network, whereinfor each listed application: the display region further indicates (i) anetwork usage statistic and (ii) an indication of a network regulationactivity, and the display region includes a selectable interface elementthat enables a user of the electronic device to modify the networkregulation activity associated with the application; the display regionbeing further configured to, in response to the electronic devicetransmitting further data packets to addresses external to the localnetwork, automatically update the displayed list of applications and therespectively corresponding indications of network usage statistics foreach of the plurality of applications.
 12. The GUI of claim 11, whereinto automatically update the displayed list of applications and therespectively corresponding indications of network usage statistics, thedisplay region being further configured to: indicate updated networkusage statistics, the updated network usage statistics received by theelectronic device in response to the GUI causing the electronic deviceto periodically poll a server.
 13. The GUI of claim 11, wherein the GUIfurther comprises: a selectable interface element that, when selected,causes the electronic device to present a secondary interface forcustomizing the information presented by the GUI.
 14. The GUI of claim13, wherein the GUI is configured to: detect input to the secondaryinterface indicating a customization to the information presented by theGUI within the display region; and display, in the first display region,the indicated customized information, the indicated customizedinformation received by the electronic device in response to the GUIcausing the electronic device to transmit an information request to aserver.
 15. The GUI of claim 14, wherein the indicated customizedinformation is at least one of a usage statistic not previouslypresented by the GUI or a number of applications within the displayedplurality of applications.
 16. The GUI of claim 11, wherein the usagestatistic is at least one of an amount of data blocked, an amount ofdata used, a current latency, a current throughput, an average latency,or an average throughput.
 17. The GUI of claim 11, wherein the displayregion is further configured to display an indication an amount ofreward points or incentives earned based upon interactions between theelectronic device and the local network.
 18. The GUI of claim 11,wherein the application executing on the electronic device is anapplication distributed by an operator of a local network.
 19. A systemfor optimizing bandwidth usage, the system comprising: one or moreprocessors; a profile database storing an electronic recordcorresponding to an electronic device, the electronic record includingan access profile and a usage profile; and one or more non-transitory,computer-readable storage media storing computer-executable instructionsthat, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the system to:cause, by the one or more processors, a usage summary user interface tobe presented on a display of the electronic device, wherein the usagesummary user interface presents indications of a plurality ofapplications and, for each of the indicated plurality of applications, acorresponding regulation activity and a usage statistic; receive, fromthe electronic device and via the usage summary user interface, aninstruction to modify a regulation activity corresponding to aparticular application, the instruction indicating a particularregulation activity; update, by the one or more processors, the accessprofile to indicate that the regulation activity for the particularapplication is the indicated regulation activity; receive, from theelectronic device, a plurality of data packets addressed to a locationexternal to a local network; analyze, by the one or more processors, theplurality of data packets to identify a plurality of communicationsessions within the plurality of data packets; identify, by the one ormore processors, that the particular application corresponds to one ofthe plurality of communication sessions; and perform, by the one or moreprocessors, the indicated regulation activity indicated to thecommunication session that corresponds to the particular application.20. The system of claim 19, wherein to cause the usage summary interfaceto be presented on a display of the electronic device, thecomputer-executable instructions, when executed by the one or moreprocessors, cause the system to: transmit, to the electronic device, oneor more computer readable instructions generated based upon theelectronic record.